Russia uses laser weapons in Ukraine, Zelensky mocks: Magic weapon

KIEV – Russia has confirmed that his troops are starting to use a new generation of laser gun in the war in Ukraine. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky teasingly called it a “magic weapon”.

The Moscow military claims laser guns were used to set the drones on fire. It’s part of some of Moscow’s secret weapons to counter Western weapons flooding into Kiev.

Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2018 introduced intercontinental ballistic missiles, underwater nuclear drones, supersonic weapons and laser weapons.

Little is known about the specifications of Russia’s new laser weapon. Putin said one of them, called Peresvet, was named after a medieval Orthodox warrior monk Alexander Peresvet who died in battle.

Read also: Not Only Hypersonic Missiles, Russia Also Deploys Laser Weapons in Ukraine

Yury Borisov, Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister in charge of military development, told a conference in Moscow that Peresvet is already in widespread use and can blind satellites up to 1,500 km above Earth.

He said there were already systems more powerful than Peresvet that could burn drones and other equipment. Borisov cited a laser weapon test on Tuesday, which he said had burned the drone 5km away in five seconds.

“If Peresvet blinds, then a new generation of laser weapons aims at the physical destruction of the target – thermal destruction, they catch fire,” he told Russian state television.

Asked whether such weapons were used in Ukraine, Borisov replied: “Yes. The first prototype is already in use there.”

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